At the outset of a drilling operation, drillers typically establish a well plan that includes a steering objective location (or target location) and a drilling path to the steering objective location. The well plan may be based on a subsurface model developed from surface testing (e.g., seismic or otherwise) and/or data gathered from wells adjacent to the drilling location. Once drilling commences, a bottom-hole assembly (BHA) may be directed or “steered” from a vertical drilling path (in any number of directions) to follow the proposed well plan. For example, to recover an underground hydrocarbon deposit, a well plan might include a vertical bore to the side of a reservoir containing a deposit, then a directional or horizontal bore that penetrates the deposit. The operator may then follow the plan by steering the BHA through the vertical and horizontal aspects in accordance with the plan.
Due to the difficulty in measuring subsurface lithology prior to the drilling of a well, the well plan may need to be adjusted as the well is drilled closer to the target location—such adjustments may be made based on data received from measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tool(s) and/or logging-while-drilling (LWD) tool(s) of the BHA. The MWD and LWD tool(s) take periodic surveys allowing operators to assess whether the BHA (and therefore the drill-bore itself) is substantially following the well plan. The process of “geosteering” involves making trajectory adjustments by analyzing data from the MWD and LWD tool(s) to determine where the preferred zone of the formation is actually located. If the geosteerer determines that the well trajectory needs to be changed, the recommended change must be effectively communicated to the rig personnel or operator(s) at the well site so the target location can be changed accordingly. Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus, system, and/or method that addresses one or more of the foregoing issues, and/or one or more other issues.